The National Weather Service confirms that a tornado that ripped through Washington, Illinois was an EF4, packing winds of up to 190 miles per hour. The mayor says as many as 500 homes in the town were destroyed or seriously damaged. At least six people were killed in Illinois as tornadoes touched down across the state. Gary Tuchman reports on one Illinois family who captured video of the tornado that destroyed their home and lived to tell the tale.

Residents in Oklahoma who were commuting home last week when the storm gained strength became vulnerable on the highway. Some may have planned ahead to escape the tornado, but regardless they were stuck on the road and risked becoming the victim of flash flooding.

CNN's Chad Myers says a car is never a safe place to be during a twister. "When a tornado gets done with a car, there's no place left for you in it. The entire thing is smashed to bits," he tells Anderson Cooper.

The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirms at least 18 people died on Friday. Three men who lost their lives were storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. Myers emphasizes that Tim was not a daredevil and not carelessly on the road, but a scientist collecting data to better help the government.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin spoke with Anderson Cooper as tornadoes were touching down near Oklahoma City Friday night. At least 20 people died in the storms that overturned cars on the highway and left at least 86,000 people without power.

Cars stuck in traffic on Interstates 35 and 40 were in jeopardy as the twisters passed through Oklahoma. Governor Fallin said her major concern was regarding the people in those vehicles.

"We actually put warning signs with our Department of Transportation on the highway to be aware of the weather ... to try to get people, you know, just to go home," she said. After what happened to the cars in Moore, Oklahoma during a tornado last week, Fallin feared a similar scene of mangled and crushed metal.

Mayor Glenn Lewis of Moore, Oklahoma, tells Anderson Cooper he can't believe his town is bracing for another potential tornado. He spoke by phone on AC360 while awaiting the storm in a shelter.

At least four reported twisters touched down in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area on Friday night leaving more than 60,000 people without power, according to the Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency for areas in and near Oklahoma City, which indicates a powerful tornado could head into a densely populated area with the potential for serious damage.

Doctors work to save horses who were injured and displaced after the OKlahoma tornado. Horse trainers Randall Weidner and Lindsay White lost all 12 of their thoroughbred and quarter horses when a tornado destroyed their home and barn in Moore, Oklahoma on May 20. A fund has been established to help them recover. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports.FULL POST